Monday, December 17, 2012Watch List DE Carter having big December
By Kipp Adams

Few recruits can say they have had a better December than ESPN 2014 Watch List selection Lorenzo Carter (Norcross, Ga./Norcross). Over the past two weeks, offers came flooding in from Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, South Carolina and Wake Forest. Moments after the 6-foot-5, 225-pound defensive end helped defeat Lovejoy for the GHSA AAAAAA classification state championship and a perfect season, the SEC champions and defending national champions made sure it was a night to remember for Carter.

Lorenzo Carter, only a junior, picked up 130 tackles and 18 sacks this season.

“I was already speechless from the win, and when coach [Kirby] Smart let me know I had an offer from Alabama, it was just a cherry on top of it all making the night seem even more surreal,” Carter said. “Alabama is a huge offer. I can't wait to get over there to get a closer look.”

The Fighting Irish are set to play the Crimson Tide for the BCS championship next month, and Carter admitted that there is a solid reason to think their offer will be heavily considered among the other 18 scholarships.

“I was born in Indiana,” Carter said. “Notre Dame is the No. 1 team in the country, and their defense is awesome. I am just going to take a closer look and get to know their coaching staff. “

Carter, having amassed 130 tackles, 18 sacks, one pass deflection and four fumbles in his junior season, was also excited about the Dec. 10 offer from the Buckeyes.

“It was good getting the Ohio State offer,” Carter said. “I liked Urban Meyer when he was at Florida and I could see myself playing under him. My teammate Myles [Autry] is a close friend of mine and he loves Ohio State. It would be awesome if he and I went to the same school.”

Two days after Ohio State came an offer from Meyer’s former program, the Gators.

“Coach [Brent] Pease, the offensive coordinator, gave me the UF offer and I was waiting for it,” Carter said. “I hope to get to Gainesville, Fla. soon to check out the campus and talk to Coach [Will] Muschamp. They have a lineage of being great, a long line of top defensive ends, and a defensive line coach that played for the 49ers for like 12 years. They are fast on defense and if I went there they could make me faster.”

Carter says he has no leaders yet, and that all of his offers are on equal standing as he tries to take it step by step and evaluate each one. He is hoping to get at least one more, from the in-state Bulldogs. The University of Georgia was in attendance at the Georgia Dome Saturday to watch Norcross play, and they told him good news could be on its way.

“Georgia said it should be coming soon ... I've been waiting for a while,” Carter said. “It is still early so it's does not really affect how I view them as far as them offering after others. But getting it would be just as big as the Alabama offer, especially seeing as UGA is the home team. It would really make my decision even harder next year but I am not complaining. That just means I am blessed to have been offered by so many high major schools.”